1. Gurnee Days Continues through Sunday, August 14th; Village Open Houses to be held Saturday, August 13th

The annual Gurnee Days celebration began Thursday, August 11th. Festivities will continue throughout this weekend, including a fireworks show on Saturday night at Viking Park and the annual Gurnee Days parade. For a full schedule, visit the Gurnee Days website.

Tomorrow (Saturday, August 13th), the Gurnee Public Works, Fire and Police Departments will each have an open house for residents. Come and learn more about these departments, their operations and the service they provide to the community. The Public Works Department open house will begin at 9 a.m. at the Public Works Facility (1151 Kilbourne) and include tree climbing, hydrant flushing and backhoe demonstrations as well as equipment tours and plow painting. The Fire Department open house will begin at 10 a.m. at Fire Station #1 (4587 Old Grand) and include special team demonstrations, a tour of the fire equipment and the chance to see firefighters in action. The Police Department open house will begin at 11 a.m. at the Police Facility (100 N. O'Plaine) and include a K9 demonstration, a tour of the policy facility and the ability to look up close at a squad car.

For any questions about these open houses, contact the respective Department. The Village wishes everyone a happy and safe Gurnee Days.

The Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO), in partnership with the Warren Township Highway Department, will offer a two day electronics recycling event at the Warren Township Center (17801 W. Washington Street) on Wednesday, August 17th and Thursday, August 18th. Residents will be able to drop off household electronics between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. both days.

Examples of accepted electornics include personal computers and any computer equipment, telephones (all types), scanners, printers, VCR or DVD players, portable electronics, microwaves ovens and many others. A full list of accepted items can be found on SWALCO's website. Please note that only electronics from residential households will be accepted, and this collection event is only open to Lake County residents.

For any questions, contact SWALCO at 847-336-9340.

3. Village Utility Billing Rates and Structure to Change Saturday, October 1st

Beginning on October 1st, the Village will restructure water and sewer billing rates and frequency. Under this system, residents and businesses will pay a base fee for water and sewer service per bill and then pay for any usage instead of the Village charging a minimum usage bill. Base fees will depend on the water meter size of the respective customer. For single family residences, the base fee for water and sewer service will be $10.93 per bill. The modified combined water and sewer rates for all users will be $4.97 per 1,000 gallons, an 8% increase. The average single family household, using roughly 6,000 gallons of water a month, will be $70.57 per bill.

In addition, the Village will move from a quarterly billing cycle to a bimonthly billing cycle. This means residents and businesses will be billed six times a year instead of four. The main advantages of this move will be faster detection of problems for residents and businesses.

You can learn more about these upcoming changes on the Village's website. For any questions, contact Village Hall at (847) 599-7500.

4. Employment Opportunity: Street Supervisor for the Gurnee Public Works Department

The Village seeks an experienced Street Supervisor to manage the day-to-day operations of the Street division.

The position requires: a valid Class “B” Commercial Drivers License with tanker and air brake endorsements; Associate’s degree in Construction Management / Business Administration / related field; 5 years municipal public works experience, including at least 3 years supervisory experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience. Proficiency with Microsoft Office products and other job-specific software programs; snow and ice control experience; participative supervisory style; strong administrative abilities; and well developed writing skills also important. Salary hiring range: $70,000 to $80,000 (+/-) DOQ.

The Gurnee Police Department will be holding a Citizens Police Academy beginning August 25th and running through November 17th. Classes will be held each Thursday from 7 to 10 p.m. Classes will cover many areas of police operation such as the 911 Center, Investigations and Patrol. For an application or more information, visit the the Police Department’s website.

6. "Gurnee's Got It!" Continues through October 15th

The 2011 "Gurnee's Got It!" Campaign launched Wednesday, June 15th and will continue through Saturday, October 15th. Coupons are now available on the website as well as sweepstakes entries.

As with the 2010 campaign, everyone is invited to visit the "Gurnee's Got It!" website, download any and all coupons you would like and redeem them at local businesses! You can also enter this year's sweepstakes for one of three free one-year car leases from Michael Fohrman's Gurnee Dodge Chrysler Jeep or a number of other prizes.

"Gurnee's Got It!" is local marketing campaign made possible through the collaboration of the Village of Gurnee, Gurnee Park District and the Lake County Visitors' and Convention Bureau with Michael Fohrman's Gurnee Dodge Chrysler Jeep and the Village of Gurnee Chamber of Commerce.

For any questions, visit the campaign's website or contact Village Hall at (847) 599-7500.

7. Local Resources: Pace Carpool and Vanpool Information

For individuals commuting within the Pace service area (Cook and the collar counties), Pace offers two programs that can help you save on costs. Through Pace's carpool program, you can search for local residents with similar commutes and look at the possibility of carpooling to save money. If you have four or more riders, you can apply for Pace's vanpool program. Under this program, commuters can drive a Pace van to their workplace with all maintenance, insurance and fuel covered by Pace. Vanpool participants have a variety of options to structure how they want their group to work. For more information, visit Pace's website.

8. Question of the Week: How does Clarke determine when to spray for mosquitos?

The Village contracts with Clarke Environmental Mosquito Management, Inc. to provide mosquito control services to the Villageduring the summer and early fall months. The services provided to the Village are based on an integrated pest management approach, including larval control, biological control and the strategic use of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency labeled and registered pesticides for adult control.

Clarke determines when sprayings will occur to maximize their impact. For example, the spraying that occured last night (Thursday, August 11th) was done to control the current population of mosquitos and a brood that was projected to hatch on Wednesday, August 10th.

Homeowners can also help control mosquitoes by eliminating potential breeding grounds around their home. Empty or remove outdoor receptacles that hold water. Clean gutters, pools, basins, vases, and birdbaths frequently. For more information on eliminating potential mosquito breeding grounds in your yard and reducing the threat of West Nile virus, residents can visit the Village website. Residents who have questions regarding the Village's mosquito control services, or would like to report areas of severe biting or standing water, should contact the Mosquito Hotline at 1-800-942-2555 or e-mail Clarke at info@clarkemosquito.com.

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